Out of Control
by Apollo2
Summary: Naruto is having a tough time keeping back the most feared demon
1. Out of Control morning

Naruto woke up. He yawned, stretched, opened one eye, then went back to sleep.

"Mmm! Where is Naruto and Kakashi -sensei?" Sakura groaned and looked around. She turned to her silent companion and teammate. "Neh, Sasuke-kun, let's train together if neither comes." She was expecting a no, hoping for a yes. Either way she looked intently at his lips as they parted as if to say...

"Good Morning!" Sakura's attention was taken away to look up at her sensei. Inner Sakura was cursing loudly. "Sorry I'm late, there was this small fox that-"The Jounin began.

"Liar!" Sakura clenched her hands at her side. "Demo Kakashi-Sensei, Narut- "

"Eh!" Kakashi cut in. "Where is Naruto?" He asked looking around not sensing the boys presence anywhere.

'Grrrr...' Inner Sakura growled at the lack of attention she was receiving that day. Calming herself she answered the Jounin's question seeing as how Sasuske would not. "He's not here, he hasn't been here all morning." She sighed.

"Nani! He's two hours late today! What's wrong with him?" Kakashi exclaimed excitedly. Well, as excited as Kakashi ever gets anyway.

Sasuke glowered at his sensei. 'So are you.' He took a look around. It did seem a bit odd to him that Naruto wasn't here. Out of everyone he seemed to be the better morning person. A slight frown covered his face (well, more then he usually frowns I guess). 'Baka! If you're still sleeping in bed.'

"Well, you two start without him, I'll go check up on him in a bit." He then proceeded with his instructions with their training today.

Sakura's mind worked as only Sakura's could. She was listening to her sensei, thinking about and applying the knowledge he was giving her to herself, and wishing slightly that she could go with him and give Naruto a bashing for not waking up. Above all else she was thinking of being alone and training with Sasuke. Portraying an observant and attentive face, inner Sakura was jumping for joy.

After Kakashi left she turned her eyes to Sasuke. Heh! He'd have to notice her now! She'd been training for just this moment. "Neh Sasuke-Kun, let's begin shall we?" She smiled for two seconds before she disappeared from sight.

Kakashi stared at the sleeping figure for a while. Something just seemed wrong with the picture. First of all it wasn't at all common for Naruto to not wake up. Second, not that Kakashi had seen Naruto sleep before, but by knowing him he always though Naruto would be the type to snore. Seeing him simply lay there, not making a sound except for light breathing, with no emotion or expression on his face, seemed wrong. Kakashi couldn't reach it but it just didn't seem right somehow. Shaking the little boy he watched intently as Naruto woke up.

Naruto woke up. He yawned, stretched, opened two eyes then looked up at his sensei. "What the- ?! Kakashi sensei! What are you doing here?" Kakashi frowned at his student's lack of observance. He pointed outside the window giving Naruto an unimpressed look. "Oh... I'm late aren't I?" Naruto apologized with a perplexed look on his face.

The Jounin waited a few minutes as Naruto got ready. He was expecting a more animated apology and excuses. Something seemed to plague Naruto's mind at the moment. As he saw the younger boy walking out with a hand on his stomach, covering right where he knew the seal to be, Kakashi made a mental note to say something to the Hokage. It could be just nothing, but any ninja would be an idiot if he shrugged if off and told no one.


	2. Out of Control training

Sasuke ran through the woods with his eyes closed searching for Sakura. Kakashi's training for the day was to play 'hide-and-go-seek' with your eyes closed. The point of the training is to be able to sense ones charka, and working with a handicap. Coming to a brief stop he took a moment to focus his charka. "To the left!" He whispered grabbing what he thought to be Sakura's arm. Surprise and disappointment covered his face as he opened his eyes and took off his blind to see a tree branch.  
  
"Over here! This way! Catch me if you can!" Sakura's voice floated to him from over 20 feet away.  
  
'This is bad, since when was she able to do that?' Sasuke slightly scolded himself for underestimating his teammate, maybe she wasn't so weak after all. Closing his eyes and pulling the blind back over them he took off in the direction he heard her.  
  
Sakura was in bliss! First, she had been training harder then usual while on her own and it was paying off a little. She focused her charka and sent it to another branch dangling right over a small pond. Second, she had gotten Sasuke to take notice of her even if it was for a small bit. Lastly, he was chasing HER. Oh she was going to have great dreams tonight. Sasuke Uchiha was trying to find and catch her, and she got to run away. She almost cried she was so happy.  
  
Turning her attention to Sasuke she slightly smiled while she watched him grab a hold of that branch. "Ooh will he..." Sakura was slightly disappointed slightly relieved to see Sasuke use his cord to attach to another branch and swing away. She wouldn't want to see him upset for falling into the water; then again, a wet Sasuke was very appealing. Once again Sakura was caught up in her fantasies she didn't see it coming when Sasuke grabbed her arm.  
  
"24 minutes and 22 seconds." Sasuke said as he took off his blind and opened his eyes. "Your turn," he handed her the blind without any emotion on his face.  
  
Sakura frowned, a smile would be out of the ordinary for him, but still she deserved something. She knew she caught him off guard a couple of times when he was so sure of himself. 'Hmph! He's got to notice me someday.'  
  
Sasuke stood impatiently as he waited for Sakura to put on the blind. He was aware of her disappointment at his lack of feelings. He probably should compliment her or something. Something was on his mind making him upset and slightly moody. Maybe it was because he didn't have a certain blond-headed ninja around to pick on.  
  
Both Sakura's and Sasuke's attention were distracted when a loud voice spoke up. "I'm here, you sissies ready to get serious!" Kakashi shook his head. Maybe there's nothing to worry about after all, Naruto seemed quite alright.  
  
A smile came over Kakashi's face as Naruto continued to brag about his strength. "Ah good, Naruto you'll start out this time. You have to locate your fellow teammates with your eyes closed and the blind on.  
  
"What? What's the point of closing my eyes if I have a blind on?"  
  
"So you can't see out of the corners of the blind. Kakashi said. 'Also so Sasuke can't use his Sharingon.' He mentally added.  
  
'Feh, that's stupid, no ones going to know if I have my eyes open.' Naruto thought to himself. He tied the blind over his eyes and waited for his teammates to run off. After a short while he took off keeping his head bent so he could look out of the top of his blind. Within a few seconds he was laying flat on his stomach and face.  
  
"Baka! Keep your eyes closed, you'll have a better chance sensing around you when you aren't relying on your eyes." Kakashi reprimanded.  
  
Sasuke smirked. 'Ah, the idiot is back.'  
  
*****************************  
  
Sakura frowned in annoyance. It had been two hours already. She almost wanted to let him catch her so they could do something else. Watching Naruto fumble around was no fun at all. Too bad it couldn't just be her and Sasuke again.  
  
Sasuke a good 30 feet a way was also annoyed, and to no ones knowledge. Slightly worried.  
  
Naruto was having an extremely hard time. He wasn't sure what was going on. He felt so weird after he woke up, nothing seemed to work right. He was having a very hard time controlling or molding his chakra. Everytime he reached for it he just found a little bit, if anything. "Kuso! I don't want to give up, but I can't seem to..."  
  
"Times up, that's enough for now." Kakashi pulled the blind off of Naruto's head. Naruto in response jumped in surprise. "Naruto you need to work on molding your chakra." He said. 'Something has to be wrong, if not for how he's acting then at least for this weird feeling I have should mean something. I'll talk to the hokage today after training.'  
  
"We only have 3 hours left, I want all three of you to train for those last three hours. No teaming up, simply battle both your teammates." Kakashi jumped to the nearest tall branch and took out his book half supervising half reading.  
  
"Heh! Now the fun starts!" Naruto grinned as he faced Sasuke. 


	3. Out of Control escape

Sasuke and Naruto had been going at it a good full minutes. Sakura would intervene from time to time, but only against Naruto, she hardly ever went against Sasuke. She blocked a kick and punch from him from time to time, but otherwise she focused on Naruto.  
  
Naruto growled. He liked Sakura a whole lot, but fighting her and Sasuke was getting to him a little. He didn't mind to much at first, he had plenty of stamina and he wasn't using any chakra, just simple fist and foot combat, but his stamina didn't last three hours long.  
  
Sasuke was unimpressed. He was going really easy on Naruto and Sakura, Sakura he was barely touching. He thought he'd focus on her more so she'd stop fighting Naruto only. She blocked his round house kick. Bringing his foot down to ground as fast as he could he closed the distance between them, grabbed one of her hands and flipped her over his body.  
  
"Sakura!" Naruto cried as he rushed to break her fall. She instead landed fine and unharmed jumping a few feet away.  
  
'Oh, I really should fight Sasuke some.' Sakura couldn't bring herself to harm Sasuke in anyway. So instead she went after Naruto again.  
  
Naruto, still not recovered from his attempt to Break Sakura's fall. was slightly hurt when Sakura turned throwing a punch. He dodged it, but in the process fell complete victim to Sasuke's kick that sent him flying. For a brief moment a series of emotions and feeling flashed through him; affection for Sakura, hurt and slight anger of how she treats him; annoyance and envy for Sasuke's power and popularity. The last of his feelings was extreme anger and disappointment at his lack of strength.  
  
Those feelings didn't last for long. Instantly he felt like someone was trying to tear into his mind. The pain was so intense he could barely breathe. He shut his eyes closed and grabbed at his hair.  
  
And then it stopped, and he fell unconscious. Laying on the ground a trickle of blood seeped out of his eyes.  
  
"Naruto?" Sakura hesitantly asked when the blond didn't get up.  
  
Sasuke also worried started running towards him, before he had even taken two steps Kakashi had beaten him there and was already shaking the motionless body. Sasuke and Sakura made it to Naruto and also began checking his injuries.  
  
"He's bleeding out of the eyes? But neither of us even touched him there. What's wrong with him?" Sakura asked. She had never felt such worry for Naruto before. Sasuke had similar thoughts.  
  
'His body is fine, he's a little worn from fighting, but nothing fatal nor threatening. The only think that's wrong with him is his mind. I need to take him to the hokage right away. "Sakura, Sasuke both of you stay here while I-" Kakashi was interrupted by a very distinctive growl.  
  
Naruto was awake, and glaring at him. No he was glaring at everyone. Actually it was kind of hard to tell who he was glaring at, his eyes were a deep crimson and orange you couldn't tell who he was focusing on. As it was it didn't matter, he growled at all of them and took a swipe at Kakashi.  
  
Kakashi dodged and jumped back. 'That was fast. This looks bad, I should have gone to the Hokage right away.  
  
Naruto jumped at Sasuke next, he grabbed his arm and threw him at the nearest tree.  
  
Sasuke more then a little surprised barely was able to flip himself in the momentum, he managed to just the same and bouncing off the tree. Already he and Kakashi were heading back there trying to stop him before he got to Sakura.  
  
Sakura froze in fear as she looked at Naruto's eyes. They were scary eyes. When she was little, Ino and her would try to tell scary stories about monsters and demons. These eyes held more fear then any of those stories they told. "Naruto, dame." She whispered. His fingers were outstretched and it looked like they had sharp claws on the end. He let loose another feral growl and jumped towards her, claws first. She shut her eyes, then was knocked down. Opening her eyes she expected to see Naruto but instead saw Kakashi and Sasuke's back Both of them were holding Naruto back and it seemed like both of them were struggling.  
  
A burst of Chakra knocked everyone down. By the time they got up and looked around, Naruto was gone. There wasn't a trace of him anywhere.  
  
Kakashi was torn between looking for him, going to the Hokage right away, or explaining what was going on to Sakura and Sasuke. He couldn't be exactly sure, but he'd bet more then anything this had something to do with the Nine-tails. He really didn't have the time to tell them what was going on, but if failed to do that then none of them would realize the true danger of the situation and someone could get hurt, or killed.  
  
"Sakura, run back to town and get the Hokage, Now!" Sakura still kind of shaky nodded and took off. "Use today's training to keep your chakra level low and unreadable." He called out after her.  
  
"Sasuke, follow me, be on alert for anything." Kakashi warned. "This may very well be more dangerous then anything you've ever experienced."  
  
"What's going on? Why is Naruto acting this way?" Sasuke asked as they jumped from tree to tree searching for movement, energy, or anything out of the ordinary. He tried to stay cool but inside he was really shaken by the recent advents.  
  
"Sasuke, I'm going to tell you a story that hasn't been told to anyone save Naruto in 10 years. Something you've read a little about in history, but what wasn't put in the books." Kakashi tried not to speak to loud; the fear of Naruto's unstable state was making him as cautious as he could be. "Stay closer towards me, I don't want to speak to loudly." Kakashi waited till Sasuke got closer before he told him anymore.  
  
"You remember reading about the Nine-tailed fox that almost destroyed our village right?"  
  
Sasuke had a sinking feeling as he nodded his head. All the while thinking about Naruto, his friend and rival. 


	4. Out of Control kyuubi

Naruto opened his eyes and stood up. He dusted himself off and looked around. He was in a dark hallway, nothing on the walls or ceiling. Confusion covered his face immediately.  
  
"Where am I?" His voice echoed a little as he walked along, not seeing anyone or anything to help him out. Deciding to turn to his left he enter another hall way. After a small sense of Déjà vu realization dawned on his face.  
  
"Oh yeah, I know where this is." He all but whispered. As he came to the end of the hallway his eyes looked up in the vast room, focusing on the barred gates in front of him. His steps came to a halt and he stared at the immense power within. Red eyes glowed back at him.  
  
"Kyuubi...."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Sasuke gulped nervously. A fear similar to the first time he encountered Orochimaru filled his thoughts. When he stood before the snake master and images of Sakura and himself dieing caused a mental breakdown. If what Kakashi said was true, then Naruto/Kyuubi could be more powerful then even that snake ninja.  
  
'Naruto? That's not possible, how could an idiot like him contain something so dangerous?' Sasuke didn't want it to be true, but he knew that if Kakashi said it was true, then, more then anything, it was.  
  
Sasuke retreated into past memories. The time when Naruto was so strong and had protected Sakura and he against Gaara. The time when they both stood on the roof of the hospital and fought; Naruto's attack had shown more power and destruction than his own. The time when Naruto and everyone else had retrieved him from Orochimaru's henchmen even though he had chosen to go. Naruto's strong power. Sure he was envious and irate that Naruto proved to better him many times, but that's all the thought he gave on the matter. Naruto was strong and so he should be training even harder to be stronger. Never once did he give thought to what Naruto had gone through to get that powerful. He didn't just train hard, he had lived hard. He worked to control not only his own chakra but chakra of a demon with powers unlimited. He had to live with most adults fearing and hating him for what was inside of him.  
  
Even with Sakura he had neglected things. She wasn't much at first but now she proved to be a challenging opponent at times. Before Sasuke had left for Orochimaru he had realized that his team was one of the few important things to him, the few friends he truly had, and yet he himself knew little to nothing about them; about their trials and pains.  
  
Sasuke was overcome with sadness. He was sad that he and Kakashi had almost not made it in time to stop Naruto from attacking and possibly killing Sakura. But even more than that, he was very sad that it may be too late for Naruto. It may be too late to talk to him and understand his teammate properly. To know his teammates and help them as much as they help him.  
  
'No! If there is any part of Naruto still in that body I'll save him. I can't let it all end here like this.' More determined than ever he picked up speed, running side by side with Kakashi.  
  
"Over there! I see something." Kakashi pointed to an orange dot half a mile a way. Running as fast as they could they neared closer to the dot, the ball, the curled up orange ninja with blond hair.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"Hey fox demon what's going on? I don't need to talk to you, so why am I here?" Naruto frowned with his eyes shut.  
  
"Fool! I don't care whether you want to talk to me or not, I summoned you here and you will listen!"  
  
"Listen to what? I'm not going to remove that seal, and I won't let you try and break out."  
  
The demon tilted its head back and laughed. "Ha ha ha ha, you foolish mortal, you've already helped. I'm more free now, than I was before, thanks to you."  
  
"What!?" Naruto yelled overwhelmed with anger and confusion. "What the heck are you talking about? You haven't escaped yet, and I'm not going to let you." He growled back at the demon.  
  
"Take a look at the seal idiot."  
  
Naruto looked up at the piece of paper with writing on it, sure enough there was a small tear in the middle. "What the?!"  
  
"It may not be much, but it's already given me more control and freedom than you know of, it shouldn't take too long before it will be gone completely and I will be allowed to roam once more."  
  
"How did that happen? What did you do?"  
  
Once again loud roaring laughter filled the room. "Me? Oh no, I assure you that that seal was not weakened because of me. What you should be thinking is what is it 'you' did to damage the seal.  
  
"M-me? That's impossible; I wouldn't be so stupid as to tear that seal with the chance that you could escape. You aren't making any sense."  
  
Kyuubi sat down to relax as it tried to explain to the boy. "Impossible? I don't think so. You first weakened it when you thought that boy almost died. I was able to take control for a short while. Your anger and insecure feelings did another nice little number to that seal. This time I was able to take control of you for a little longer. Keep giving into anger and self doubt and I'll eventually take over completely. You're body has become much stronger than it used to be, eventually it will be able to handle my power flowing through out it."  
  
Naruto was practically speechless, he didn't know what to say or do. How could so much stuff about his own body go unnoticed by him? He'd have to be more careful less he would truly lose himself to the powerful demon. Still at a loss for words, it soon didn't matter. Within seconds Naruto was out of it again and opening his eyes to another place. 


	5. Out of Control in control

Sakura ran as fast as she could. She jumped on a bench, then a window sill, then climbed up to the roof. Casting her eyes around to no avail she soon continued her quest, jumping from roof to roof.  
  
"Ino!" Ino jumped with a start. Looking behind her she saw Shikamaru coming up from behind her. "What were you looking at? We practically left you, we didn't realize you weren't following us." He came beside her and looked around, a small pink blur caught his eye. "Oh, I see."  
  
"Hmph!" Ino turned her head away in disdain. "I don't care about that silly forehead girl." Frowning slightly she sneaked a glance back in Sakura's direction. 'I just miss the old Sakura. That's all'  
  
"People change." Shikamaru said nonchalantly. He looked at Ino's slightly sad face. 'Bah, how troublesome' Shaking his head he placed a hand on Ino's shoulder, "Come on let's go catch up with the others."  
  
Ino looked up at him, a smile crept up on her lips. "Baka, you should be careful, you're starting to make it a habit of being nice to me."  
  
Shikamaru looked to the side. "It's more troublesome if I don't."  
  
Ino's smile grew wider "Come on let's go back!" She said as she grabbed Shikamaru's hand.  
  
"Uh... yeah..." Shikamaru followed. After awhile Ino let go of his hand, a weird feeling filled Shikamaru. 'Feh, women are so troublesome.'  
  
*************************************************************  
  
"Hokage-sama! Onegai, Kakashi and Sasuke need your help, something is wrong with Naruto." Sakura spoke quickly as she saw that the Hokage already looked like she was going somewhere. She walked by Sakura quickly heading towards another room. "Hokage-sama, didn't you here me?"  
  
"Of course I did, follow me, I already know what's going on." Sakura looked into the room gazing upon millions of scrolls. "Aha! This one should do." Sakura looked over to see a rather large scroll in Tsunade's arms. "Hurry up child let's go! We haven't got all day!" Tsunade frowned at herself, she didn't mean to be so rude to Sakura, but this was important. 'Naruto! You better not be lost from us!'  
  
Sakura followed close behind Tsunade. 'I wish someone would tell me what's going on.' As soon as Tsunade and she left the building she quickened her pace so she could lead Tsunade to the spot where she and team 7 had been last. "This way Hokage-sama"  
  
************************************************************* "Ka... Kakashi... sensei? Where am I?" Naruto sat up, a dazed look covered his face. Kakashi smiled and relaxed. Sasuke let out a small sigh of relief, it wasn't loud, but it still caught Naruto's attention. "Sasuke?" Naruto seemed to be snapping out of his spell. "Ah! Where's Sakura? Oh Kyu-" Naruto stopped talking at that point. 'Maybe I shouldn't talk about this right now.' "Did she already go home?"  
  
Kakashi extended his hand and pulled Naruto up. "Naruto, this is really important, but what do you remember last? Do you know what happened the last 30 minutes?" Kakashi's eyes didn't wander from Naruto 'Are you yourself? Or the nine-tails?'  
  
Naruto chewed his lip a little and looked at the ground. 'Well I was in my own inner dungeon, dealing with the Kyubi, but I think they're asking about what I remember last when I was conscious.' Naruto looked up at Sasuke, then turned to Kakashi. "I was sparring with Sasuke and Sakura, then I was knocked aside and knocked unconscious." Naruto said the last part with a bit of anger in his voice, more for feeling week then for being ganged up on.  
  
"Ah, so you don't remember anything else, not even if it seemed like a dream?" Kakashi asked again. 'Surely the nine-tails wasn't in complete control at that time. Surely Naruto has some vague idea of what happened.' Looking at the boy's actions and slight fidgeting Kakashi could tell he was holding back something.  
  
'What happened? I don't want to tell them about my mind, that's my business no-one else's!' Scrunching up his face he shook his head. "No I really don't remember doing any- hey wait a sec! Thirty minutes? How long was I out, and why am I here?" Naruto looked around wildly and confused. 'Oh, maybe that's why they were asking so much, they probably no nothing about my encounter with Kyubi.'  
  
Kakashi sighed and placed a hand on the blonde's head. 'He really doesn't seem to know what happened a while ago, but I wonder what he was thinking about.' As Naruto looked up with him confusion still evident on his face Kakashi took his hand of the boy's head and squatted down. "You were a little different a while back, kind of out of it, and you ran off."  
  
"Kind of out of it?" Sasuke interrupted. "You looked possessed, you attacked Kakashi and I with enormous strength and chakra. Then you were gone, I wasn't sure if you ran off, flew, or simply disappeared." Sasuke, to say the least, was still a little bit upset. He was afraid that what Kakashi had warned him about had happened and that Naruto would be lost to them forever. To see him acting normal was a relief and a little annoying. 'You dobe, you had me worried there. Argh, since when did you matter so much to me.' Annoyed with himself for displaying so much emotion Sasuke turned away and glared off into the forest.  
  
"What's your problem pretty boy? Upset that I was apparently too strong for you to handle? Sorry if I can't control my own strength." Naruto smirked and Sasuke swung back around. "You idiot! You don't even remember what happened! You don't know if you were really strong or if Kakashi and I were just holding back. You're as weak now as you were when you first graduated." Sasuke yelled angrily at Naruto  
  
"What!? You Jerk! I'm twice as strong as you. You just hate to admit it." Naruto yelled back.  
  
"I don't need to admit it, you'll never be near my level." Sasuke seemed to calm down a little and smirked at the irate Naruto  
  
"That's it I'm gonna-"  
  
"What fight me? Go ahead and try" Sasuke cut Naruto off.  
  
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Came a distinctly upset, distinctly feminine voice from the trees behind them. Tsunade and Sakura came out from the shadows. "I hope more then anything I didn't have to come all the way out here just because the two of you can't be civil towards each other." Tsunade glared at the two boys.  
  
Kakashi looked slightly grateful for Tsunade's appearance. Not that he couldn't handle the two boys, just that he was tired of doing so. "Hokage- sama, thank you for coming." Tsunade nodded in his direction then turned to face Naruto.  
  
'He looks fine, just the same I should probably examine him before we go back to the village.' Tsunade turned towards Sakura and then Sasuke. "Both of you go home, your training is over for the day." Sakura was a little annoyed, but nodded just the same and turned to leave. Sasuke stayed put. "That means you too Sasuke." Tsunade looked at him.  
  
"I'm not leaving." Sasuke folded his arm and glared at the fifth Hokage. Tsunade smiled a little and walked up close to the smaller boy. She leaned down and whispered something into his ear. Sasuke flinched and looked away. "Feh, whatever." Then he walked off in the direction towards the village.  
  
Naruto had stayed quiet the whole time; he wasn't even paying attention really. It wasn't until Sasuke had left and both Tsunade and Kakashi were looking at him that he snapped out of his thoughts. "What's going on?"  
  
Tsunade gave a small smile. "You were really dangerous there for a while Naruto. I'm afraid I'm going to have to examine you, and possibly place another seal over the one you already have."  
  
Naruto frowned. It was bad enough that he had the main seal, he really didn't want another, it was so hard to mold his chakra already. 'Just the same, I don't want Kyubi to get out.' Naruto took off his jacket, shirt, and netting so Tsunade could look at his body and seal.  
  
******************************************  
  
Heh, I'm going to start replying to reviews now. Sorry, I didn't before, I don't like to talk too much.  
  
Ookima: I'm glad you like my story, I've read a few of yours. I kind of like Gaara pairings. They just seem more special then SasuNaru ones. I'm trying to update more, but I'm also trying to have more in each chapter, and improve my writing. I think it gets better with each chapter  
  
Insanechildfanfic: I'm glad you like it, if you say something other than this is great I'll try to respond to you more. I saw that you also like Harry Potter. My sister is writing a Draco/Harry fanfic if you're interested. It's on adultfanfic.net though, so I don't know if you like those fics or not.  
  
Michelle: yeah I hate it when it doesn't show my fic right away, that's happened a lot and I wonder if I'm doing something wrong when I upload the chapters.  
  
LadyDeathStrike: glad you like it, I'll update when it when I can, but also I'd kind of like more reviews.  
  
SoulRetriever: Yeah I thought I was being so original when I came up with the idea to have Naruto going through a hard time dealing with kyubi possibly breaking out and all. Then I read lots more fanfiction and saw that other people had written stories about that stuff already. Too bad, I'll just try and make it more in depth then. Heh hypocotylous for the short chapters are we? It's all right, I'm trying to get them longer though. Yeah after the episode where they showed Ino and Sakura's childhood, and where Sakura totally ditched Ino I haven't like her much at all. I mean friendships are supposed to be strong and all, but she just dropped it like that. I can't stand that kind of faithfulness to a friend.  
  
Gopu: I'm glad you think it gets better and better. I really try harder with each chapter, and I think my writing just improves the more I go on.  
  
Toki1: my goodness, I love to see people so excited about my fanfic. I'll try to update faster, but if I'm to make the chapters longer and better its going to take more time and thought.  
  
Random Anime Fan: glad you like it  
  
Cookie: come now cookie, is anyone in the whole Naruto series actually a 'good friend' to him? He's been lonely all his life, but I think that's why we all love him so much.  
  
Cdkobasiuk: Thank you, I tried hard not to ruin the characters. A story isn't considered good with the characters being different and no good explanation or reason. That's my opinion anyway  
  
Gisela: I see you're a Sasuke fan eh? Naruto's my favorite, I'm not sure if it would be Shikamaru next or Gaara.  
  
Manga-lover: glad you like it. Say tell me, do you happen to know how far Naruto is going to go with the manga? I have up to chapter 213, and I'm waiting for the next, but I don't know if it's almost over, halfway over, or not even close. Sorry if you have no idea, I just saw your name and thought you might know.  
  
Inaudiblefever: hmm, not too impressed with your remarks. If my writings bad let me know where, otherwise it's pointless to say that. I like helpful criticism, not insults.  
  
Hikaridemon: yeah I was going to get the upper case and lowercase thing right, but I changed my mind and didn't try. Glad you like it, hope you'll continue to enjoy it.  
  
Queen-of-saphires: thank you  
  
Fibby: heh, sorry you don't like too much yaoi, my fanfic shouldn't turn out like that since it's rated pg-13, I wouldn't change the rating and honestly I really don't intend to even think about writing R type stuff. Luckily for you the actual anime an manga doesn't head in that direction.  
  
ArchAngel: good suggestion. I like covering everyone, kind of how the manga and anime does it itself. I'm going to work at putting Lee's group and Kiba's group in there. Theirs is kind of hard for me to write. 


	6. Out of Control Gotta deal with it

Tsunade checked his body for any external injuries. Then she checked for internal injuries. She detected a few in the brain, but she knew well not to try to mess with that. No one, no matter how smart or talented they are with medicine and the human body, actually knew how another person's brain worked. If they were genius enough they could figure out their own brain, and if they were talented enough they could cure any problem. Tsunade happened to be one of those individuals. But messing with another's brain would only make things worse, if it didn't kill them.

She placed a hand on his forehead and studied his brain a little more. There was nothing wrong with it physically, but there was a bit of chakra that seemed to cut off circulation in some places. This meant that he wouldn't have complete control of his thoughts and actions all the time. Being careful to not harm anything she followed the trail of the red chakra that seemed to be engulfing his body all the way down to the seal. 'Yes, this problem all has to do with you doesn't it?' She glared at the seal. She placed both hands over it and tried to study it as best as possible.

Her eyes snapped wide open and she jumped back a few feet. "Naruto?! What the heck have you been doing to your body and that seal?"

Naruto got up from lying down. "What do you mean? Why is it that I'm the one weakening the seal? How do you know it's not Kyuubi?" He frowned and folded his arms.

Kakashi cut in before Tsunade had the chance to say anything "Naruto, we're not saying you are doing anything on purpose, but if you are stressing your body really far or going through a hard time you need to tell us."

"Tell you?! You want me to tell you if I'm going through a hard time?!" Naruto's anger started to grow. "How about if I tell you when I'm not going through a hard time? How about if I tell you when I do have friends that care and help me along the way? How about if I do tell you when people stop casting glares and insults my way? How about if I tell you when people appreciate what I do for them and not think the worst of me? Because if you want me to tell you that, then don't worry because it hasn't happened yet!" By now Naruto was yelling at both of them and once again his anger was becoming to strong and great.

Tsunade and Kakashi were able to see just how as the anger grew, the seal glowed, and a sense that if they didn't do anything soon to stop this growing anger then they would get a repeat of the last hour. Tsunade lunged for Naruto arms outstretched. She crashed into him and wrapped both arms around him pulling him to her tight. "Shhh... Naruto, don't be upset. There are people that care for you, you just have to look around more and see who they are." She whispered in his ear. "You know I will always be your friend before I am your hokage."

Naruto had relaxed completely in her arms. He hadn't ever felt like this before, tears seeped out of his eyes and he tried to wipe them away, but Tsunade just hugged him tighter and whispered again "This is what it feels like to have an older sister or mother. It's OK to cry, you don't need to be embarrassed."

Naruto was embarrassed; he didn't think it was normal; but if this is what it felt like to have a sister or a mom, he wasn't going to let the chance slip by. Any family feelings he could get he treasured them and remembered them always (except when he's mad of course).

After he calmed down Tsunade release him and took a step back. "Well your outburst there actually helped a bit. I understand more of what the problem is now." Naruto dried the remainder of his tears and looked up at her in question. "When your negative feelings seem to reach a high level you lose control to yourself and some how, I suppose you unconsciously seek inner power for comfort, but that's caused you to turn to the Kyuubi for help and it's weakened the seal."

Naruto furrowed his eyes as he took his time to understand what she was saying.

"I can strengthen the seal, but I can't completely reseal it without sacrificing my life. In the end, you Naruto, will need to work on controlling your emotions and feelings so that they don't let the Kyuubi free."

As Tsunade and Kakashi spent a few minutes reading the scroll she had brought, and figuring out how to use, and which seal to use, Naruto's mind wandered.

'I need to start being more responsible. I can't just be physically strong, I need to be emotionally and mentally strong. I guess I should stop letting other people control my emotions so much. Maybe I should retain a more solemn attitude until I can keep a better hold on myself.' A mental image of Sasuke's stoic and solemn face came to Naruto's mind. Followed, was an image of him standing right next to him with the same expression. Naruto burst out laughing. Tsunade and Kakashi shot him strange looks and he stopped, though when they turned away he started snorting quietly. 'Nah, That would be dumb and annoying. Ah what the heck. I'll figure out what to do. Maybe I should relax more and have more fun.'

'Who would want to have fun with me? Not Sakura, I ask her everyday. Maybe Shikamaru? But looking at clouds aren't always fun. Kiba and I would just fight. Shino reminds me of Sasuke. Hmm... probably the thick eyebrows guy, who else? Ah! Hinata! She never really seems to be that busy.'

Tsunade and Kakashi finished their reading and Tsunade turned to Naruto. Half an hour later she had successfully strengthened the seal on Naruto's stomach. She gave Naruto's head a quick pat, but then she had to leave to attend to hokage duties. Kakashi helped Naruto into his shirt and then walked him home.

"Ahhh! I feel a lot better now." Naruto smiled as walked alongside Kakashi.

"Is that so?" Kakashi replied

"Yup! I'm not having all my Chakra sucked up and I can feel it again."

Kakashi thought about what Naruto just said. 'Hmm... so if the seal weakens, Naruto's chakra automatically goes into keeping it back. I wonder if he did that himself somehow, or if the Fourth had arranged the seal that way should it become weaker.' "Hey Naruto. What do you say to a bowl of Ramen?" Kakashi looked at the boy and was surprised to see a bit of a frown on his face. Kakashi rolled his eyes. "OK. What do you say to bowls of Rame-" Before Kakashi could even finish he was tackled from the side.

"Woohoo! Thanks Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto let go of his sensei and ran all the way to the ramen stand. Kakashi got up, shook his head and followed. When he got there Naruto had already ordered himself a bowl and was talking to Iruka who happened to be there. He sat on the other side of Naruto and the three engaged in conversation.

After Naruto had finished off 6 bowls, he thanked Kakashi a lot and then excused himself and took off. Kakashi and Iruka were a bit surprised to see him leave so abruptly, but when they saw him call out to some of the other gennin's they left it be. Having nothing else much to do the two talked with each other.

cdkobasiuk – Sasuke's not going to tell Sakura everything. He's not a blabbermouth. However he will be friendlier to her and Naruto and maybe socialize better.

Toki1 – Glad you liked this chapter. What did Tsunade say? Well I really don't know Tsunade's mind too well to know what she said, but whatever it was it worked, neh?

SilverBlueEnchantress – I updated! It just took a long, long time. I didn't update earlier because I hadn't had too many reviews and I thought people just really weren't interested.

InuYahsa-gal-97 – Glad you thinks it's cool. Out of curiosity what does the 97 number stand for?


	7. friends

"Hinta-chan!" Hinata whirled her head around. She thought she had heard Naruto's voice. Sure enough, he was there and heading in her direction. A little stunned, it took her a while to notice that he was calling her name.

"Na" she stuttered "Naruto-kun. Konichiwa" Naruto smiled as he caught up to her. Hinata was always so polite. Really, he should have talked to her a long time ago.

"Hey Hinata, are you busy?" After a furious head shake his smile widened. "Wanna have some fun?" An extremely red face nodded. 'That's great! We'll just… we'll… uh…' Naruto seemed at a loss for thoughts and words. Really the things he did for fun was spy on the women's bath, mark graffiti, play pranks. He hadn't done any of those things recently but just the same, he didn't have a long list of things to do.

Hinata's blush went away and a sweat drop appeared. They had been standing like this for a little over 5 minutes now. "Naruto-kun" She didn't feel very articulate when he was around. Rather shy, but if she was going to have a chance to spend time with Naruto she could muster up some courage. When Naruto's eyes looked up at her she smiled nervously again. "Would you like to go for a walk?" It wasn't much, but Naruto's eyes lit up none the less and she felt a small sense of victory.

"Yeah! A walk! Let's walk!" He practically shouted at her. Hinata smiled. She didn't mind that people were turning their heads at all the commotion. Naruto was just like that, she didn't mind at all.

The sun was on its downward fall and Hinata knew she would not have all the time in the world she listened and chuckled from time to time as Naruto told her all about his hopes and dreams. She knew them all already, but it was nice to hear them again, and his voice.

"Neh Hinata." She looked up at him "What do you want to be?" They walked past the last shop and building. Now they were wandering along the forest. A few shouts and cries could be heard in the distance from training gennin.

"Eh?" her eyebrows furrowed a little. She was so used to listening to him she really didn't know what to say about herself.

"What do you want to be?" Naruto persisted. He had said all of his goals, twice actually. He wanted to know a bit about Hinata.

"Well, a ninja" She started. Normally she would have been too scared to say anything else, but she had warmed up a little around him. She picked a random flower and stared hard at is as she opened up her thoughts. "I want to be a petal."

"A petal?" Naruto looked at her strangely. Like henge into one? As soft as one? Purple? She wanted to be purple maybe?

"I don't want to be the center of attention. I can't handle that, and I wouldn't know what to do." She thought about her family and how she was not fit to be the leader. "But that doesn't mean I'm useless. I want to be a part of it. Not just any part. I want to add to its beauty, make it part of what it is" She didn't have to be special, she just had to help. Didn't have to be noticed specifically, perhaps just the people next to her.

Naruto was greatly confused. What did this have to do with flowers? Well, petals. Maybe she slipped up and meant to say she wanted to be a pal. Petal, pal. Yeah that could work. "Don't worry Hinata. I'll be your pal" Naruto grinned at her showing his teeth.

Hinata looked up at him with surprise on her face. She hadn't finished but it occurred to her that she was talking more for herself than for him. He didn't fully understand what she was saying, but that was ok, because she did.

"I'm not a princess Naruto, but I'll be a ninja. I'll be your friend." She spoke a little boldly. More so than she had ever before. 'I guess he brings it out in me' she thought. 'Strength'

Naruto smiled at that. No one had said they'd be his friends before, at least not in that way. He knew he had friends. Tsundae, Erosenin, Kakashi, Iruka, Sakura and Sasuke kinda. Even some of those other guys; and Hinata was a friend already. No one had ever phrased it that way before and it felt good to hear. He had missed a lot during the earlier part of his childhood, but it wasn't over yet and he'd treasure anything he got.

Hinata was looking up at the sky. Looking at the blending of colors as the sun set. She was about to comment about how late it was getting when she was wrapped up in a hug from Naruto. Crushed to his chest she could see nothing but orange. Feel nothing but his warmth. Smell nothing but the sweat on his body and the small bit that was just him. A fox she thought. He smelled a little like a fox.

Naruto let go with another grin on his face. "That's right Hinata. Ninjas. We'll both be super strong ninjas." He turned and headed back for the village. "Come on"

Hinata ran after him feeling a sense of freedom and power she had never had. She could be strong. She could be brave. She could be anything if Naruto kept grinning at her the way he did.

The two ran off, nothing much, just a couple of kids running into the night.

"Say Hinata, does Sasuke have any weaknesses?"


End file.
